Consumer prices: Binge drinking, partying, hotels and gasoline bring the average up a notch

Booze, party, hotels and gas… that almost sounds like a very boulevard-heavy headline? But it’s just the way it is. The most important thing that we all have every day as a cost factor in no way contributed to the fact that consumer prices in April suddenly rose from +1.3% in March to +2.0% (year-on-year). Food (without alcohol) was only 0.5% more expensive in April than in April 2018, according to detailed data published this morning by the Federal Statistical Office for the month of April.

The following chart shows it very well. With an increase in consumer prices of 2% on average, prices for transport (gasoline) and for “leisure, entertainment and culture” increased the most with 3.3% each. Alcohol and tobacco also grew faster than the average at 2.5%, as did prices for hotel accommodation.

In addition to food, postal and telecommunications services (-0.6%), education (0.0%) and furniture (0.8%) also ensured that the average did not rise even faster. In April, energy products became 4.6% more expensive than in April 2018. Excluding energy prices, the inflation rate in April would only have been +1.7%. But how, for example, did the “leisure, entertainment and culture” segment manage to become the driver of consumer prices with +3.3%? The statisticians have written this in the following text:

In addition, the inflation rate for April 2019 was mainly influenced by the price increase for package tours (+11.2%). This is primarily due to the calendar effect of the late Easter situation this year compared to the previous year. Consumers also had to pay significantly more for long-distance bus travel (+13.6 %), air tickets (+6.1 %) and rail tickets (+3.4 %) within a year.

Here are further details of the statisticians in the wording:

Vegetables were considerably more expensive in April 2019 than a year earlier (+9.7%). Other price increases included fish, fish products and seafood (+2.6%) and bread and cereal products (+2.3%). However, these price increases were offset by a sharp drop in fruit prices (-8.4%). Prices for edible oils and fats (-1.9%), dairy products and eggs (-1.3%) and sugar, jam, honey and other sweets (-1.0%) also fell within a year.

Total prices for goods increased by 1.8% between April 2018 and April 2019. In addition to the significant price increases for energy products (+4.6 %), newspapers and magazines (+4.8 %) and tobacco products (+3.6 %) also became more expensive. In contrast, some goods also became significantly cheaper (e.g. consumer electronics equipment: -6.8 %; telephones: -6.7 %).

In April 2019, prices for services rose by an above-average 2.1 % compared with the previous year, mainly due to the rise in prices for travel services. In addition, social services (+5.0 %), maintenance and repair of vehicles (+4.3 %) and restaurant services (+2.6 %) became more expensive. The price increase for net cold rents (+1.4 %) was also important for the price development of services, as private households spend a large part of their consumption expenditure on this.

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